Why Do Cats Eat Grass?

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According to Science Magazine, scientists think they may finally have an answer for why our feline friends have a tendency to gobble up grass, only to regurgitate it again shortly after.

More than 1,000 cat owners were surveyed, all of whom spent at least 3 hours a day observing their pet. As you may have suspected, eating plants and greenery was revealed to be a common occurrence, with only 11% of owners failing to notice their cat doing it.

It’s a common belief that cats eat grass precisely because it makes them throw up, but the study mentioned above revealed that only a quarter of greenery-gobbling cats were actually sick afterwards. Also, 91% of the owners surveyed revealed that their cats didn’t display any symptoms associated with being unwell before they went on to ingest plants.

So why exactly do they do it?

The prevalent theory is that cats, just like many other wild animals including chimps, ingest grass because it – at one time, at least – helps to get rid of intestinal parasites. It does this by increasing the muscle activity in their intestinal tract.

Although the parasite in question is no longer a threat to our feline friends, it seems to be the case that cats picked up this strategy from a distant ancestor and that’s it’s simply innate behaviour.